Lt. Gov. Scott Says It's Unlikely He'll Run For Governor

Lt. Governor Phil Scott says it’s very unlikely that he’ll run for Governor next year.

Scott is the only Republican statewide officeholder at this time and he’s been mentioned as a possible GOP gubernatorial candidate in 2014.

Chances are pretty minimal. I am happy being Lt. Governor at this point - Lt. Gov. Phil Scott

Scott says it’s always difficult to challenge an incumbent governor and he feels there are a number of economic issues that he wants to focus on as Lt. Governor.

“Chances are pretty minimal. I’m happy being Lt. Governor at this point,” said Scott. “I think it would be a very difficult campaign to run for governor and I’m not saying that I would never consider running but it hasn’t been something that I’ve aspired to do.”

Scott is in the middle of a battle to determine the future of the Vermont Republican Party. While some Party leaders embrace the partisan approach taken by some members of the GOP Congressional Caucus in Washington, Scott thinks Vermont Republicans should stand for their own set of values.

“That are part of our history part of our tradition part of what we’re made of tolerance so forth of being a Vermonter,” said Scott. “I embrace being a conservative what I don’t embrace is being a partisan and partisanship.”

Some Republicans have criticized Scott for being a part of Governor Shumlin’s cabinet but Scott says this position gives him an opportunity to raise concerns about new policy initiatives with the Governor.